F Hampton Carmine

Teela of Kolander F Hampton Carmine

Teela of Kolander is a science fiction YA novel of Teela's journey through a year of personal discovery, taking her from a servant to the royal family, to Empress of the far flung Barkol Empire, and finally to an independent young lady ready for her future. The Barkol Empire, comprised of five star systems and twelve planets, is all Teela has known for the past four years as a servant on the Empire's home planet of Bardonis. A bloody coup by the Emperor's half-brother, upends her world and she, the Empress and the Princess flee, eventually crashing into Earth's Atlantic ocean. The watery crash leaves the Empress dead and the Princess and Teela adrift in a small lifeboat. Days of drifting overwhelms the Princess' weak mind and she slips overboard and drowns, leaving Teela alone until she washes up onshore near Miami. Teela learns strength while on the ocean and begins a new life on Earth gaining friends, allies, and Mary, a sister of the heart. But months later, just as she begins to relax, the rebels track down her ship, demanding that Earth surrender it and its occupants. She and Mary, voluntarily return with them to save the Earth with Teela pretending to be the Princess. Teela and Mary, travel across the Empire variously as prisoners, escapees, and explorers, becoming competent and confident, young adults. Teela recovers her chemically blocked memories, and her true identity. They discover the hidden history of the Empire, the real dangers of space, and the deepening mystery of genetic homogeneity across the populated planets.